M I Khalil

December 30, 1988

This has been a year of mixed fortunes for Pakistan, in final evaluation it must be regarded as a satisfactory period, successfully negotiated. In economic terms we are in such desperate straits that the requirement for Banks collecting Haj money to be deposited with the State Bank of Pakistan after a 14-day period has been shortened to 24 hours. The financial cupboard is bare and that is not a political statement, it is a testament of failure of policy that has tragic overtones for a hapless population. It is not fair but the government of Ms. Benazir is likely to be saddled with galloping inflation and widespread unemployment, which is not a legacy of Gen. Zia (who had no pretensions of being an economic genius) but a heritage from the Junejo period, compounded in the last six months by the chameleon policies of the most powerful economic technocrat ever in Pakistan. If there is a lesson to all this, it must be that essentially all Third World countries should treat acquired foreign qualifications in economic management with care, if not outright suspicion. There is a sick joke going around that while previously the first prize for good economic management was the Chairmanship of the Senate (sic Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan), it may now well be the ultimate reward for ruining the economy of Pakistan, perhaps the only appointment in the country from where Dr Haq cannot cause further harm to the economy.

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About Ikram Sehgal

In 1971, Ikram Sehgal was taken prisoner of war in East Pakistan and successfully escaped from Indian Authorities. Joined 44 Punjab, he was given a battlefield promotion to Major, left the Army in 1974. He worked as a commercial pilot before starting his own business in 1977. A regular columnist in the print media since 1987, he graduated to his own TV Talk Show. He is a member of World Economic Forum (WEF), International Organization for Migration (IOM) & the Chairman of Pathfinder G4S Pakistan.
Educated at Lawrence College, Murari Chand College, Notre Dame College & the Pakistan Military Academy. Commissioned in 1965.